Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) Receives $44.83 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.83.

CGNX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Cognex from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Cognex from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Cognex from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. HSBC lowered shares of Cognex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cognex to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th.

Insider Transactions at Cognex

In other news, EVP Carl Gerst sold 6,803 shares of Cognex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.73, for a total transaction of $222,662.19. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,445.18. The trade was a 59.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cognex during the 4th quarter worth $79,797,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Cognex by 122.7% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,834,755 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $114,808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562,115 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cognex during the 4th quarter worth about $46,299,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Cognex by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,840,117 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $209,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Cognex by 903.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 731,232 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,222,000 after purchasing an additional 658,394 shares during the period. 88.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognex Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ CGNX opened at $30.74 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.56. The company has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.39 and a beta of 1.43. Cognex has a 52 week low of $30.04 and a 52 week high of $53.13.

Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). Cognex had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 5.65%. Research analysts anticipate that Cognex will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Cognex Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.46%.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.